The Greens say a year-long review announced by the State Government into a heavily criticised planning document for Perth and Peel should be used to revive Perth’s neglected Bush Forever policy.
“Launched at Bibra Lake on Boxing Day 2000, Bush Forever was heralded by the then Liberal State Government as a chance to put Perth at the forefront of world cities in conserving their biodiversity,” Greens Planning Spokesperson Tim Clifford MLC said.
“The aim was to ensure that 10 per cent of the original extent of 26 vegetation types found on the Swan Coastal Plain would be protected and managed in perpetuity.
“It was an example of foresight and good city planning – but 18 years on, of 287 carefully chosen ‘Bush Forever’ areas in Perth, 98 still have no agency assigned to manage all or part of them, and 187 sites remain all or completely outside of the conservation reserve system.
“This has left the job of protecting and managing them to community volunteers and countless battles to resist inappropriate development, such as we saw at Bibra Lake and Pt Peron, and now Brixton Street Wetlands.
“The Strategic Assessment for Perth and Peel, which became known as the Green Growth Plan, was supposed to avoid a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ for Perth’s urban bushland and biodiversity while providing certainty for developers about what areas were available for development.
“The Greens note the McGowan Government’s announcement of a year-long independent review of the Green Growth Plan.
“We are concerned that this review is proposed to take a year, at a time when community groups are facing draining and exhausting battles to stop development on Bush Forever sites.
“The Greens call on the McGowan Government to transfer the majority of Bush Forever sites that currently have no conservation status into secure reserves, and assign appropriate funding and agencies to manage them.”